Avalice Archives:Sources and Credibility
One of the biggest doubts that people in the fandom have, and a constant challenge for the wiki staff, is the credibility of the Freedom Planet Wiki. While the articles are written and edited by volunteers, the wiki is meant to offer accuracy. Using sources is the way to provide credibility. For example, Wikipedia aims to be as encyclopedic as possible and limits itself to "good" sources. Good sources by WP's standard, for example, include material published by a reliable third party like articles and books. On the topic of Freedom Planet, a more-or-less niche indie game, however, it is not always possible to provide "good" sources. The Freedom Planet Wiki will always have bits of speculation thrown around as it relies on a lot of primary sources, often posted on less reliable sources like social media, YouTube, and Discord. To remedy this, the wiki will only allow users to cite those kinds of sources as long as they follow the rules. References still have to support a claim as directly as possible. What sources are/are not allowed The games as a source: * ✔ Citing the dialogue of the games is more of a no-brainer. It will always provide the bulk of the in-universe information. To do so, use Template:CiteGame. * ✘ Internal game contents usually unseen are a big gray zone. On the Freedom Planet Wiki it is not allowed to post original research that is the result of data mining. It is better reserved on TCRF, a wiki dedicated to cut and unused content. * ✔ While data mining isn't allowed here, referencing the content from TCRF is. The developers as a source: * ✔ Citing interviews made with (limited) public figures, i.e people with a bigger internet following who are also known by their full name (like Stephen DiDuro himself), directly associated with GalaxyTrail are allowed. * ✔ Citing the GalaxyTrail Discord is allowed, as it is a public server everyone can join and check out for themselves. However, for a Discord post, it is not enough to just provide a screenshot as that could easily be manipulated. Also, only statements of public figures directly associated with GalaxyTrail are allowed. Use Template:CiteDiscord to create a reference to a Discord post, and add: their full name, username, the unedited quote, date and time of the post. * ✔ Citing a tweet is allowed as long as it's made by a (limited) public figure directly associated with GalaxyTrail. Though, make sure to differentiate between jokes and serious answers. * ✔ Citing a developer's responce on the Steam forums is allowed. * ✔ Citing a YouTube video is allowed as long as it is either provided by GalaxyTrail themselves or features a (limited) public figure directly associated with GalaxyTrail. So that the quote can be verified, only public and/or archived videos can be used. To reference them, use Template:CiteYouTube and add video title, video link, timestamp (for when the quote begins), a transcript of the quote, date and time of the video's upload. * ✘ Citing a private conversation with one of the developers is not allowed as it could never be verified. Other websites as sources: * ✔ Archived versions of websites on Wayback Machine can always be used to retrieve information that is otherwise lost. Additionally, it is recommended to always archive the websites referenced. * ✘ Wikipedia itself cannot be used as a source, as it is not a (reliable) source. Category:Wiki